This disclosure relates to a tall fescue grass having rhizomes that has a superior turf quality compared to other known tall fescues with rhizomes. One embodiment of this grass is known as breeder""s code Bar Fa 08PB.
Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) is a short- to medium height, cool-season, perennial grass used extensively for pasture, hay, and turf, that has smooth, soft, bright green leaves with arrow-shaped tips. Tall fescue is an excellent low-maintenance turfgrass, due to its ability to tolerate drought and shade (See Tall Fescue, Edited by Buckner and Bush, Published by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. ASA Monograph Number 20. 1979. ISBN 0-89118-057-5). However, tall fescue has a limited use in areas which experience extreme high or low temperatures, such as the Southeastern United States. In addition, a major problem with tall fescue it its slow recovery from injury (such as overgrazing and over-mowing) and its tendency to become clump if not overseeded.
Rhizomes are underground stems that allow grasses to spread and form a close-knit sod that regrows after injury. Rhizomes benefit plants by storing carbohydrates, which increases heat and wear resistance of the plant, and allows the plant to spread and compete better in a sward. Rhizomes also provide growing points under the surface of the soil, where they are better protected from temperature, prolonged drought, and overgrazing. Therefore, it is desirable to increase rhizome production in tall fescue to promote persistence under conditions of stress, such as extremes in temperature. This may allow tall fescue plants to perennate in areas now considered marginal for its adaptation and use.
Although others rhizomatous tall fescue plants have been described, the tall fescues described have not been ideal. Genotypic variability for rhizome production has been documented, and no genotype x location interaction was reported for the trait. For example, De Battista and Bouton (Crop Science, 30:536-540, 1990) describe a tall fescue which took at least seven months of growth before rhizome expression occurred under greenhouse conditions. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the top rhizome producers in the greenhouse to the top rhizome producers in the field. Studies by Bouton et al. (Agron J. 81:220-23, 1989) demonstrated that bermudagrass competition depressed rhizome production, but that even the most rhizomatous genotype 83-29 produced only 0.2 to 0.4 rhizomes per tiller, and the plants only spreading up to 0.3 m per year (Cowan Adv. Agron. 8:293-320, 1956).
Therefore, there is a need to identify a tall fescue having rhizomes which can grow in subtropical climates and the southern portion of the transition zone, recover quickly from injury, and reproducibly produce high-quality turf.
Herein disclosed is a tall fescue variety known as breeder""s code Bar Fa 08PB that is different from all known varieties of tall fescue plants. In one embodiment, mature Bar Fa 08PB plants reach a height from about 90 cm to about 135.5 cm tall, produce about 1 to about 10 rhizomes per plant, which are from about 1 cm to about 33 cm in length, have a high rust-resistance tolerance, and/or have a high turf quality rating when the plants are about one year in age. In another embodiment, Bar Fa 08PB plants tolerate mowing better than other tall fescues having rhizomes, such as Torpedo (variety).
At least 2500 seeds of Bar Fa 08PB were deposited with The American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.; ATCC Deposit No. PTA-3825) on Nov. 5, 2001 under the Budapest Treaty. These seeds will be irrevocably and without restriction released to the public upon the issuance of a patent. Therefore, these seeds are known and readily available to the public. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides grass seed deposited as ATCC No: PTA-3825.
In one embodiment, the disclosure provides tall fescue plants having the morphological and physiological characteristics of Bar Fa 08PB. Also disclosed are seeds of such plants, progeny of such plants, and vegetative sprigs or clones of such plants. In another embodiment, the disclosure provides grass plants having the genotype of Bar Fa 08PB.
The disclosure also encompasses tall fescue plants that are produced by crossing Bar Fa 08PB with other grass varieties. Also disclosed are seeds resulting from such a cross, grass plants grown from such seeds, and vegetative sprigs or clones from such a cross. In one embodiment, the seeds resulting from the cross are part of a seed mixture.
In another embodiment, the disclosure provides a method of producing grass seed, including planting seed from Bar Fa 08PB under conditions that result in the germination of the seed, growth of grass plants and setting of progeny seed, and then harvesting the progeny seed. Also disclosed is grass seed produced by this method, as well as grass seed mixtures including such grass seed.
Also disclosed is a method of producing a grass plant which includes crossing a grass plant produced from Bar Fa 08PB with at least one other grass plant to produce at least one seed, harvesting the seed, and germinating the seed to produce at least one progeny grass plant. Included in the disclosure are grass plants produced using this method, as well as a vegetative sprig or clone of the grass plant.
The grass plants disclosed herein can be planted in a variety of areas, for example in areas where turf is desired. Examples include, but are not limited to: golf courses, for example golf course fairways and roughs; lawns; athletic fields, such as football fields, baseball fields, soccer fields, lacrosse fields, and tennis courts; parks; and pastures, such as areas for animal grazing. In one embodiment, the grass plants disclosed herein are used for erosion control, such as in grass waterways. In another embodiment, the grass plants disclosed herein are adapted to low mowing.
The disclosure also includes sod or animal feed, such as hay, which includes the grass plants disclosed herein. The sod can be planted in any area where grass plants are desired, such as the areas listed above.
In one embodiment, the grass plants disclosed herein include one or more transgenes.
Endophytes associated with the disclosed grass plants and seeds are disclosed. In one example, endophytes produce one or more alkaloids, such as lolitrem B and/or ergovaline at levels not toxic to livestock. In particular examples, endophytes produce less than about 300 ppb ergovaline, such as less than about 100 ppb, 80 ppb, or 60 ppb, such as about 55 ppb of ergovaline. Alternatively or in addition, endophytes produce less than 1800 ppb of lolitrem B, such as less than about 1000 ppb, 750 ppb, 500 ppb, 300 ppb, 200 ppb or 100 ppb of lolitrem B.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the new tall fescue variety described herein will become more apparent from the following detailed description of several embodiments, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying figure.